Chocolate!

Chocolate brings me joy!

"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE."
Linda Grayson, "The Pickwick Papers"

What is the best chocolate you have ever tasted?

Last night's dessert came very close to being one of my favorite chocolate experiences. But perhaps the best chocolate I have ever tasted is the chocolate that I am tasting right now.

Grateful Heart

Every night before I go to bed, I write down five things that I am grateful for. Sometimes it is more than five things. Sometimes I have to stretch to get to five things. But bottom line, I fall asleep with a grateful heart.

Research has revealed that expressing gratitude and writing down what we are grateful for increases our overall happiness and decreases our stress levels.

Psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough are conducting on-going research on gratitude and thankfulness. This finding is from their website:

"In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)."

To read more about their research, check out their website:

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/

I will continue not only to be grateful in my heart but also to express my gratitude to others. What are you grateful for?

Quote from a Friend

A friend sent along this quote...

“Hope [or joy] is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

~~Vaclav Havel from Disturbing the Peace

Engraved Invitation

I have always heard that you don’t need an engraved invitation to show up to your life and do what you are called to do. But I want to offer you an engraved invitation to your life’s passion. Literally, here is an engraved invitation.

Figuratively, I invite us all to pay attention to what makes us tick, what inspires us, what brings us joy. We all seem to have time to make “to-do” lists, what about making a “to-be list”? Consider yourself invited to do so. I invite you to show up to your life. Today. What are you waiting for?

I was thinking earlier that all we have is the present moment and while it may be hard to live in the moment presented, it really is all we have. The following reflection by Byron Katie speaks to loving where you are....

Love Where You Are

We do only three things in life: we sit, we stand, and we lie horizontal. That's about it. Everything else is a story.

Life is not difficult; it's your thinking that makes it difficult. That's where you happiness or misery comes from.

There are two ways to sit or stand or lie horizontal: you can do it comfortably, or you can do it with stress. If you don't love where you are, I invite you to question your beliefs.

~ Byron Katie

Curious?

I am reading a terrific book by Todd Kashdan called Curious? This is an excerpt from his website about the book:

"When we think about seeking daily joy and lasting fulfillment, cultivating curiosity is rarely the first thing that comes to mind but based on groundbreaking research, clinical psychologist and George Mason University professor Dr. Todd Kashdan will show you that this is the engine behind achieving a life that is most worth living."

I am curious about the origin of orchids.

I am curious about laughter and why as we age, we laugh less than when we were younger. Isn't life just one hilarious moment after another? If we can't laugh, then wouldn't we all cry?

I am curious about vocational calling and passion. How come some people are able to identify a calling and throw themselves into their vocation while others don't even begin the search?

I am curious about the role of technology in developing deep, meaningful relationships? Do social networks increase connection or do they detract from in-depth, authentic relationships?

I am curious about what people eat for breakfast on a daily basis and want to try some new things.

What are you curious about?

Saying Yes To Life!

“One of the most effective means for transcending ordinary and moving into the realm of extraordinary is saying yes more frequently and eliminating no almost completely. I call it saying yes to life."
~ Wayne Dyer